Help decipher this scenario.
 

Tonight start off perfect. My 9 year old daughter and I took our first deer hunting outing together with my cross bow. Just before dark three does came in and one was broad side, very slightly quartering toward me and 25 yards. When I shot it hit her hard and I heard a pretty loud crack. She instantly fell and for about twenty yards she was flopping and plowing with her chest. My first instinct was maybe I hit front shoulder. I could not see the bolt in her as she flopped towards the woods. After she went out of sight I went and found the bolt. To my surprise it was a pass through shot, blood all the way up and one of the fletches was peeled back. At first I didn't notice but soon realized my Grim Reaper was not open, and it had hair crammed down into the blades like they did not open. The way she was plowing I was sure her front shoulder was destroyed but I don't think I would get a complete pass through going through the shoulder would I? My only thought is the bolt his the shoulder and then glanced straight down. Just a guess but not sure. There was not much of a blood trail. About 10 minutes into the track in the woods it was dark and my daughter was getting scared so I backed out and am going back in the morning. It was in the high 40's when I shot and supposed to be in the low 40's over night. Once in the woods it appears as she was up because the leaves were not all disturbed like she was on her chest. I heard nothing but good about Grim Reapers and that is why I chose them. I hope it wasn't a mistake. After taking these pictures I checked and the broad heads open with little pressure as they should.
Any other thoughts on what might have happened?

Looks like muscle blood and fat but its hard to tell from a picture high shoulder area would be my guess.

Could be liver blood but looks more like muscle from the pictures.

Hopefully the crack was the unopened broad head hitting a rib and she won't be far.

That's baffling how the blades didn't open. Can you open them manually? I use NAP Killzones and they open up if I accidentally hit a branch. Have a hard time fathoming how a mechanical can go through a deer without opening up. Crazy.

You would think even with a hole punched through her she would die in short order with decent shot placement.

Hopefully you find her this morning. Good luck!

Anything mechanical can and will most likely fail at some point in time.

Never was a fan of the mechanicals. I have seen a few that didn't open. Give me a 150 grain Thunderhead and I am a happy camper.

Update.
Found the doe just a little bit ago but the coyotes did a number on her, I will post a pick I took from my phone later. I couldn't tell anything about the entrance wound but the exit was about as expected, a little behind the shoulder, which she was slightly quartering toward me. The front shoulder was still intact from the coyotes and the shot did not impact it. Her "passenger side" (LOL) was ate up from the behind the shoulder back to the ham. Her left side was partly intact back to the back leg, right side back leg was missing. Plus I checked the tip again and it is till razor sharp at the point so that also tells me it did not hit the shoulder bone.
I felt one of the blades and it would open with very slight pressure. I did not open it all the way. I sent pictures and an email to grim reaper just to see if they would want to examine it or not. I thought maybe since it was still as is an had not been manipulated they might be able to tell something. Needless to say my confidence is not the highest right now, the reason I went with that bread head was all the positive reviews.

Just go get some heads that make sense.....simple,steel,and sharp fixed heads.

Slick trick, thunderhead,muzzy,montec,steel force etc.

That's the plan.

I was doing some looking around on Grimm Reapers web site. They say their heads will close up on exit because of the inertia from the bolt slowing down so fast. The way all the hair was in the blades it looked like it had stayed closed. Due to the damage of the carcass from scavengers I didn't really pay much attention to the exit wound because I was assuming it stayed closed, I never dreamed they would close after the fact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZOnwNS_cPw

I know Grim Reps have a rep that people/Hunters don't think they open up sometime. They do close on exit some of the time. Checkout some of the reviews on some other sites . Its a bummer you lost the Deer. If you dropped your Daughter at home and went back and tracked the Deer it sounds like you would of found it. ? How far away from where you shot it was the Deer?

Hj

either way there are plenty of quality heads on the market that you don't have to worry about whether or not they worked or will work next time.

This is just my opinion but to me when the option are A. a broadhead that will work or
B. a broadhead that will probably work its a pretty easy decision and that is not even getting into penetration issues.

Not sure if your talking about driving distance? I live about 30 miles from where we were at, however my wife and son were not home so I didn't have the option to go back that night. Her only being nine I had to get her home, homework, bath, etc. It is a shame. I felt bad checking in a partial carcass but I try to always do the right thing. I have a lifetime license in Indiana so I am not really limited on my number of doe tags.

I almost lost a 10 pt. in Ohio about 4 yrs. ago trying a Rage broad head. good blood trail at 1st then a trickle here and there then a drop and down to nothing. I had to do a grid search to finally find it. I went back to my fixed blade thunderhead 125's. I figure why take the chance of even 1 time having a broad head not opening.. it may be the biggest buck you will ever get a shot at and I would rather have it something I did wrong, then a broad head not opening up.
just my 2 cents take it or leave it.

My thoughts exactly. I prefer slick tricks, they are awesome. :biggrin:

Too bad you lost your deer to the yotes... sounds like you ended up putting a good shot on it, and just some unfortunate timing kept you from the recovery. I think I'd have done a little more autopsy to know whether or not the blades opened up for sure. With a broadhead its pretty easy to tell on a complete pass thru, unless you have some extreme angle ... you see the x or triangle, etc.

Glad that you found her. Sucks the yotes got a free lunch.

could be the expandable did what it was supposed to. Just may have closed the broadhead back with the flopping around the deer did, because there is hair lodged in the blade so it had to open.

No in the woods. How far from your Blind or Treestand was the Deer when you found it the next day? 50 yards,100yards ect. You did nothing wrong in my book. Had to take care of you kid.

HJ